Chapter 123
But Joo Kwon-oh quickly disappeared from sight due to the staircase railing.
If I wasn’t seeing things, that was definitely Joo Kwon-oh I just saw!
He didn’t seem to have noticed me, but…
Why was he here when he should still be in the Netherlands?
Even in my confusion, my body moved first. I took the stairs, climbing up to the next floor in big strides. Then I saw Joo Kwon-oh’s back as he walked down the hallway.
It really is Joo Kwon-oh.
Didn’t he say he was coming on Saturday? Today is Thursday… What’s going on?
Then was everything that girl was saying in the back of the student cafeteria true?
I followed Joo Kwon-oh like a police officer chasing a thief. I was very curious about where he was going without contacting me, even though he was back in Korea.
Eventually, the place where Joo Kwon-oh stopped after crossing the hallway was, surprisingly, the lecture hall for the general education class I was taking.
Only when I saw the back of his head as he peered inside from the back door of the lecture hall did I realize that he had deliberately told me a different return date.
He must have been planning to surprise me by suddenly appearing like this.
Once I reached that conclusion, all the unpleasant thoughts that had been anxiously floating around in my head scattered in an instant.
As the girl had said, Joo Kwon-oh’s hair was a bit shorter than when we last video called.
Wearing a thin brown vintage-style jacket suitable for the autumn weather that had followed summer, he looked around the spacious lecture hall and even went inside.
The class is about to start… Is he planning to attend the lecture too?
I secretly followed him in, as if I was carrying out a covert operation.
Thinking I hadn’t arrived yet, he brazenly took a seat even though he wasn’t enrolled in the class. It was a position slightly towards the back from the middle.
Instead of approaching and talking to him, I took a seat diagonally behind him, keeping some distance as I had done in previous general education classes.
Whenever Joo Kwon-oh occasionally turned his head to scan the lecture hall, I desperately hid myself by lowering my body as if playing hide and seek.
Fortunately, this general education lecture had many students, making it easy to hide.
“Oh, damn. Joo Kwon-oh? When did you get back?”
Someone recognized him and approached to greet him warmly. This caused all the surrounding students to turn their attention to him.
Joo Kwon-oh was still too handsome, easily capturing the attention of his peers.
While smiling and returning his friend’s greeting, Joo Kwon-oh was checking the faces of each student entering the lecture hall.
“Everyone, please take your seats. We’re starting the class.”
At that moment, the professor entered the lecture hall. As she started speaking into the microphone, the gathered students scattered back to their seats.
Even then, Joo Kwon-oh didn’t leave the lecture hall and kept staring intently at the front door.
Although I felt annoyed that he came here without telling me, I found it cute how he kept looking for me. At the same time, I felt excited.
What expression was he making? I was curious about Joo Kwon-oh’s face, which I couldn’t see clearly from this angle.
The professor was handing out printouts and explaining the outline of today’s lesson content in advance.
It seemed I had missed the timing to greet Joo Kwon-oh while lost in too many thoughts. I awkwardly received the printout passed from behind, but never took my eyes off Joo Kwon-oh.
In the end, the class started before I had a chance to speak to him.
Thinking I was late, Joo Kwon-oh borrowed a pen and notebook from the person next to him and participated in the class, even taking notes as if he were an actual student in this lecture.
Since I couldn’t go and greet him now, I spent the time staring at Joo Kwon-oh’s back as if mesmerized.
Maybe it’s because he cut his hair. His features seemed even more distinct. Honestly, with more of his handsome face visible, he looked even more handsome.
He came back without contacting me, knowing full well I was waiting. Although my anger would probably dissipate when we face each other… I couldn’t help feeling a bit hurt.
I thought I would calm down as time passed, but my heart kept beating rapidly. The sound of my heartbeat was so loud in my ears that it made me dizzy.
Before I knew it, I was drawing his back view in my notebook out of habit.
His shortened hair, straight nose bridge, angular facial lines, and thick Adam’s apple.
Joo Kwon-oh was still perfect as a subject.
As I captured him on paper, the boring general education lecture flew by quickly.
When I came to my senses, the professor was already explaining the assignment for the next lecture.
The surrounding students were already packing their bags and getting up from their seats.
I hurriedly jotted down the assignment and put the clean printout I hadn’t written anything on into my bag.
And just a few seconds later, when I looked up again, Joo Kwon-oh, who had been sitting in front, was nowhere to be seen. He had disappeared without a trace.
Flustered, I looked around, checking if he had left through the front door.
And then.
“What were you doing?”
Along with the familiar voice, someone snatched the notebook I had left on the desk.
My head quickly turned to the back.
“Huh? Uh… when…”
Joo Kwon-oh, who had taken my notebook, flipped through the pages and raised one eyebrow.
Then, showing the page with his face that I had drawn throughout the class, he said,
“You’ll need to explain this.”
Seeing him for the first time in three months, he stared at me without a trace of a smile. At first glance, it almost looked like he was glaring.
Flustered, I quickly snatched the notebook back from him.
“What explanation.”
“You’re not going to explain drawing someone’s face for an hour without permission?”
“……”
In just a few minutes, the lecture hall had emptied of the professor and students, leaving it quiet.
The full autumn breeze blew in through the slightly open window, gently brushing past us before disappearing.
Despite the clear difference in seasons, it felt just like we had gone back in time to the first semester. To that day when I saw Joo Kwon-oh in the lecture hall.
I hid the notebook against my chest, looking around cautiously in case anyone else might see.
“I, I was drawing my boyfriend’s face… I don’t see what the problem is.”
“Ah. Is that so?”
Only then did I glare at the mischievously smiling Joo Kwon-oh, and pushed his shoulder with my palm.
“How could you lie about your return date?”
“I wanted to surprise you. How did you know I arrived?”
“I heard people talking about seeing you…”
“Ah.”
Joo Kwon-oh slightly parted his lips, as if he hadn’t anticipated that.
“If you’re going to deceive, do it properly. I was worried.”
“Sorry. I didn’t think I’d be discovered so quickly.”
Soon, one corner of his mouth turned up. Seeing that expression, I was reminded of what he had said before leaving the country.
‘I’ll be back soon.’
“…You really did come back soon.”
“I told you. I don’t lie.”
Really. When I was waiting, it felt like time wasn’t passing at all. But now that I saw his face, it felt like three months had flown by in an instant.
“But Jeong-ha, you’re still skipping class to steal glances at my face.”
Although I felt a bit shy meeting him after a long time, I didn’t avert my gaze, feeling like I didn’t want to miss a single moment.
“Do you like me that much?”
Joo Kwon-oh asked in a whisper.
“…Yes.”
I nodded after confirming that we were alone in the lecture hall. Was there any need to hide it now? If he wanted, I could confess how many times I had wanted to see him.
Joo Kwon-oh then made a groaning sound.
“But Jeong-ha. Don’t you have a major class next?”
“Yes.”
“Haa, shit. Then you can’t skip it…”
“……”
“What is this. I can’t even touch your cheeks as I please. It’s all mine.”
After saying such embarrassing things, Joo Kwon-oh ran his hand through his hair as if pondering for a moment.
Not long after, as if he had thought of something, he tilted his head slightly.
“Want to stop by the club room for a bit? Just five minutes.”
“The club room?”
“I’m dying of thirst. I think I could relieve it if I could hold you for just five minutes. Hm?”
“What if… there are people?”
I mumbled, trying to suppress my trembling voice.
“There won’t be, at this time.”
Joo Kwon-oh said with certainty. The subtle heat emanating from his voice was fully transmitted to me.
We were already desperate to reach each other somehow. We just couldn’t because the place was inappropriate. We both knew exactly how we felt.
“Don’t you want to?”
Joo Kwon-oh, slightly frowning one eye, playfully snatched the notebook from my hand.
“Then I guess I have no choice. I’ll have to take this notebook.”
“Ah, don’t do that.”
Instead of returning the notebook, Joo Kwon-oh lowered his arm and tightly grasped my hand before letting go.
Even though the lecture hall was empty, perhaps because it was still the school, the feeling of his large hand gripping mine made my heart race wildly as if we were doing something wrong.
“If you want it back safely, quietly follow me.”
Despite his mischievous words, Joo Kwon-oh stood by the door, patiently waiting for me to come out.
Although he was impatient inside, he took careful steps, one by one, matching my pace.
And so, after three months, we walked side by side through the campus, now colorfully dyed with autumn leaves.
Just like Joo Kwon-oh, I also wanted to hug him quickly. I wanted to embrace his waist and bury myself in his warm embrace, fully absorbing his scent.
Because of this, our steps towards the club room gradually quickened, unlike at first.
“I missed you, Jeong-ha.”
Joo Kwon-oh said. The words he uttered quickly scattered in the wind, so that no one but me could hear them.
“Me too.”
The dry autumn wind swept through Joo Kwon-oh’s hair and the hem of his clothes. And I captured in my eyes, without missing a single detail, the movement of his hair, eyelashes, and clothes swaying beautifully like a painting along with the wind.
Although he was now my boyfriend, I still couldn’t take my eyes off Joo Kwon-oh, who shone in every season.
I was certain that even as time passed and we became much more mature than we are now, it would still be the same.
The End
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
